WBB Hosts Home Opener Against New Mexico

North Texas hosts its 2011-12 home opener, after defeating UT Arlington 66-47 at Texas #$%^Hall on Friday, Nov. 11. Karen Aston won her coaching debut in that game, becoming only #$%^the second North Texas coach to do so, as the Mean Green had its bi

Mean Green Host Home Opener After Successful DebutNorth Texas hosts its 2011-12 home opener, after defeating UT Arlington 66-47 at Texas Hall on Friday, Nov. 11. Karen Aston won her coaching debut in that game, becoming only the second North Texas coach to do so, as the Mean Green had its biggest road win to start the season in program history. Three players scored in double-figures for the Mean Green, and Tamara Torru notched her second career double-double. North Texas was undefeated last year in non-conference home games, and has won five of its last six non-conference home games.

Mean Green Stage Great DebutKaren Aston joined Tina Slinker as the only two coaches in North Texas program history to win a debut game, as North Texas rolled UT Arlington 66-47 at Texas Hall. The 19-point margin of victory is the biggest road win to start the season in school history and the biggest win to start a season since 1997. The 19-point margin of victory is the largest in any win for the program since Feb. 22, 2010.

North Texas vs. New MexicoNorth Texas hosts New Mexico, playing the Lobos for the first time since 2008, when the Lobos eked out a three point victory at The Pit in Albuquerque, not to be confused with North Texas' Super Pit. This is only the second time New Mexico has visited Denton and the Super Pit, with North Texas winning the 1995-96 season opener 63-59 at the Super Pit. Two of the four games have been decided by four points or less.Torru Seeing Double-DoubleTamara Torru had the second double-double of her career against UT Arlington (13 pts, 12 reb), helping the Mean Green to a 66-47 victory. Torru grabbed 12 rebounds, just one short of her career-high 13, and reached 10+ rebounds for only the third time in her career. Torru becomes the first North Texas player since Erica Bobo in 2005 to open the season with a double-double. She also tied a career-high with three assists.

Hudson Does It AllBrittney Hudson filled up the box score against UT Arlington on Nov. 11, and not just for her game-leading 16 points. Hudson tied career-highs with five steals and three assists, and added three rebounds. Hudson went 5-12 from the field, and made 6-7 free throws for her 16 points, her 14th 10+ point scoring effort since transferring to North Texas.

Crashing The BoardsNorth Texas crashed the offensive glass against UT Arlington on Nov. 11, picking up an even 50% of all offensive misses. The Mean Green scored 14 second-chance points on 18 offensive rebounds, while allowing UT Arlington to only grab 18 defensive rebounds.

North Texas In Home OpenersNorth Texas is 23-12 in its home openers all-time. The Mean Green has won six of its last eight home openers and 11 of its last 14 to open the home season at the Super Pit. North Texas beat Stephen F. Austin 78-75 in last year's home opener.

Last Time With New MexicoALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (12/9/08) - It was another nail-biter for the North Texas, but they came up three points short as New Mexico held on for a 66-63 win at The Pit. In a game that featured 14 lead changes, the Lobos scored the game's final eight points and the 3-pointer by Brittney James at the buzzer came up short.

The second half saw the Mean Green open up a four-point lead at 44-40 with 13 minutes left before the Lobos went on an 8-0 run to take a 48-44 lead. Amber Jackson ended the run with a basket that sparked North Texas on an 11-2 run. Leading 55-50 with seven minutes to play, the Mean Green surrendered six straight points to New Mexico as they retook the lead with six minutes to play.

North Texas responded again with 7-0 run with under four minutes remaining capped off by another Jackson basket. With North Texas up 63-58 with 2:37, the Lobos made one final run. Two North Texas turnovers lead to five straight points to even the game up at 63-63 with 1:13 to play. Tricia Lee had her shot blocked with 54 seconds to play and the Lobos took the lead for good on an Eileen Weissmann layup with 22 seconds left.

This Day In Women's Basketball HistoryNorth Texas has played five times and has a 3-2 record on Nov. 14, but is 3-0 at home on Nov. 14. North Texas lost in 2010 at Oral Roberts and in 2009 at Stephen F. Austin, but won in 1980, 1981, and 1984, which were all home games and home openers.

Godbolt Named Preseason All-ConferenceJunior forward Jasmine Godbolt was named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team. Godbolt led the team in both field goal percentage (.476) and rebounding (228 total/7.9 per game) in 2010-11. She finished second on North Texas and 13th in the Sun Belt in points per game with 13.2, ranked fifth in the league in rebounding, and ninth in field goal percentage during 2010-11.

North Texas Faces Daunting ScheduleNorth Texas' schedule includes 12 home games, plus marquee non-conference showdowns with New Mexico, SMU and Alabama coming to the Super Pit, and games against Oregon State, Arizona and Texas away from home. The rugged schedule contains 13 games, plus a potential 14th in the Rice Tournament, against teams which made the WNIT or NCAA Tournament last season.

Noon HoopsNorth Texas hosts Oral Roberts on Nov. 16 at 12 p.m., in Denton ISD Elementary School Day game. Four schools from Denton ISD, Poloma Creek, Pecan Creek, Providence and Cross Oaks, have students coming to the game, with a total of close to 700 fifth and sixth grade students coming to the Super Pit. This is the first time the women have hosted a Denton ISD Elementary School game, although the men's program is hosting one on Jan. 18 for the third straight season.

The Super Pit Is ItThe Mean Green won all three of its non-conference home games in 2010-11, and have won five of its last six non-conference home games in the Super Pit, dating back to 2009. Since 1998-99, North Texas is 102-54 (.654) in all games at The Super Pit.

Defense Wins ChampionshipsOne area of emphasis for head coach Karen Aston will be on the defensive side of the ball. North Texas has allowed over 70 points in each of the last three seasons, as they allowed an average of 74.3 points a game during that stretch. In her last two seasons at Charlotte, Aston's team allowed an average of just 60.2 points a game while its opponents shot under 35 percent from the floor.

Draining It From DowntownNorth Texas is enjoying its best run of 3-pointers in school history. The last three seasons has seen the Mean Green hit a combined 382 3-pointers, which is the most in school history over a three year period. The last three seasons rank No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 all-time in a single season at North Texas in 3-pointers. North Texas had a school record 450 3-point attempts last season.

Bolting Into The Record BooksEntering her junior season, Jasmine Godbolt has a chance to enter the record books in numerous offensive categories. Godbolt is only 243 points away from becoming only the 13th player in school history to score 1,000 points. She needs 27 more rebounds to enter the top-10 all-time school history in rebouds and is 269 away from the school record. Godbolt has 200 free throws for her career, 22 away from the top-10 in school history, while she already ranks seventh all-time with 376 free throw attempts.

Mean Green Voted FifthNorth Texas recieved one first place vote and was picked to finish fifth in the West Division in the preseason coaches poll. Denver was picked to finish first in the West, and Middle Tennessee was picked to win the East division.

Torru Shoots The ThreeSenior Tamara Torru led North Texas with 28 3-pointers last season and has a chance to break into the top-10 all-time at North Texas. Torru has 44 3-pointers for her career and needs only 19 more to enter the top-10 all-time.

Hot Hoops In Hot SpringsFor the fourth consecutive season, the Sun Belt Conference Tournament will be held in Hot Springs, Arkansas at the Summit Arena & Convention Center. The format features all 12 teams going to Hot Springs. The top two teams from each division will earn bye's into the quarterfinals. The rest of the field will be seeded by finish in their respective division. The women's tournament will be held from March 3-6. North Texas' Coaches Show is on the day preceding the tournament, March 2, from Lucky's in Hot Springs.

North Texas On The TubeThe Sun Belt Network televises three North Texas women's basketball conference games this season. The Jan. 15 game at ULM game begins at 2 p.m. on the Sun Belt Network. The network televises a home double-header with the men's basketball team against Arkansas State on Jan. 28, at 7 p.m., which will also be live on Cox Sports Television (CST) and Comcast Sports Southwest (CSS). A home double-header on Feb. 18 against Louisiana-Lafayette tips off 1 p.m. followed by the men's game at 3:30 p.m, both televised on the Sun Belt Network.

The ReturnersNorth Texas returns 10 players from its squad a year ago, which includes most of its production from 2010-11. The Mean Green return 74.9% of its scoring (1444 out of 1927), 77.9% of its individual rebounds (853 out of 1095), 83.9% of its assists (255 out of 304), 79.5% of its steals (178 out of 224), and 75.0% of its blocks (48 out of 64). North Texas returns Jasmine Godbolt, who was named Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team.

The NewcomersNorth Texas has four newcomers this season, in addition to a transfer who is eligible in 2012-13. Sara Stanley comes to North Texas as a junior college transfer from McLennan, where she was a two-time all-conference pick. Barbara-Scott Kolb was named the Lay Witnesses For Christ Female Christian Athlete of the Year in 2011, and was twice an all-district pick at Argyle High School. Atavia Blake was named as an All-Tampa Bay selection out of high school before coming to Texas to play for Karen Aston. Braylah Blakely, a McDonald's All-America nominee prior to her senior year, set school records at Cedar Hill, and was named ESPN Rise Regional Player of the Week for a 24-rebound performance against MacArthur. BreAnnaDawkins, a Wichita State transfer, is eligible starting in 2012-13, and was an All-Missouri Valley Conference Freshman Team pick at WSU.

North Texas Inks FiveNorth Texas signed five players in the early signing period, including two guards, Briana Brooks and Loryn Goodwin, and three forwards in Eboniey Jeter, I'Tiana Taylor and Acheil Tac. Brooks (Tyler Robert E. Lee HS), was named first-team all-district in her junior year, posting 15.5 points and five assists per game. Goodwin (Cypress Falls HS) was named was named TGCA All-State and TBCA All-Region, All-Super Centex team, academic all-district team, and was the District 12-5A Offensive MVP in 2010-11. Jeter (Harker Heights HS) averaged 13.9 points and 16 rebounds a year her junior year, en route to being named first team all-district. Tac (Sasche HS) is one of the leading rebounders in the Dallas/Fort Worth area for a forward and was named All-District 10-5A in 2011. Taylor (Pflugerville HS) ranks as the 52nd best power forward in the country by Dan Olsen Girls Basketball Report.